This post originally appeared on the Fluent blog.

Rants are risky. They can be unbearable, and use up priceless patience. Rants usually break rules for good content. They can take the form of a rambling monologue, when a simple demonstration is called for. But, remarkable observations sometimes come from rants.

A year ago, I had a pint with Theo Schlossnagle, so I knew he could rant with cleverness and clarity — when beer was involved. But at Monki Gras a few weeks ago, Theo’s official conference rant was so good, I forgave his verbing of leverage (another rant). Theo delivered an intentionally semi-structured diatribe about structuring messages. It was brilliant.

Theo said a lot with a few choice words:

“Good stories stick, so don’t use good stories to tell lies.”

“Epic stories come from either despair or passion.”

“Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from making bad decisions.”

Just as rants carry risk, aphorisms are tricky. They can quickly descend into banal sound-bites or hackneyed turns of phrase. What sounds profound the night before can come across as trite in the morning.

Short, meaningful statements come from experience and editing. Mostly editing. They cannot be crafted by setting out to create catchy points. They aren’t the goal, but the result of continuously improving the point’s expression.

The tricky part is what you’re left with once you’ve distilled your message. You’ve got nowhere to hide. There is no room for hedging. The zombie remains of aphorisms that died of embarrassment are called platitudes.

So, can you use aphorisms and rants for your own messaging? Absolutely. But beware of the risks. Know your subject. And remember that well-crafted, pithy statements are the result of refining your message. Try creating witticisms without substance, and you’ll end up with sound bites that seem contrived and platitudes that burn through the remains of your audience’s patience. Try them in a rant on a subject in which you are anything but deeply knowledgeable, and you’ll look like an idiot.